Rabbi Chaim Sinwani - Hidden Tzadik

Rabbi Chaim Sinwani (1898-1979) - Hidden Tzadik, Mekubal Yahrzeit - 27 Adar Resting place - Yehud, Israel   Rabbi Chaim was born in Sinwan, Yemen, to Chacham Yichye of the distinguished Bida family. As a young man he left home for Jabal to study at the yeshiva of Rav Shlomo ben Yosef Tabib and Rav David Yaish Chadad. Both Roshei Yeshiva passed away in 1919. He received rabbinic ordination at the age of 17 from Rabbi Shlomo ben Yosef Tabib and studied Kabbalah with him. In 1921, at only 23 years old, Rav Chaim became the Rav and Av Beit Din of Sinwan. He and his family took part in Operation Magic Carpet in 1949. His students relate that Rabbi Chaim loved the Zohar so much that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai himself and his son Elazar would come to him in dreams whenever he could not resolve a difficult passage in the Zohar. Rabbi Chaim Sinwani smoked a pipe, as did the Baal Shem Tov and Rav Kaduri... There is a tradition that they smoked their pipes with special kavanot and performed an incense-offering that brought Yeshuot to Am Yisrael. The Hidden Tzadik - Rabbi Chaim Sinwani - had a walking stick, a "makel," with which he walked his entire path; many miraculous stories are told about this staff, which he later passed on to his student. Rabbi Sinwani immigrated to Israel in 1949 and refused to serve as a congregational rabbi. He lived in Yehud, where he became renowned as a miracle-worker (Poel Yeshuot) and taught students in his home. Rabbi Chaim was the teacher of Rabbi Mordechai Sharabi, alav hashalom. After the Yom Kippur War, he asked for the names of the fallen, prayed for each of them, and wept, asking what merit we would gain for them. His great work on the Zohar HaKadosh   Sipurei Tzadikim Kiddush Hashem In his youth, the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Sinwani traveled extensively through the Jewish towns of Yemen. He told Rav David Yehudayoff (who was himself a "hidden tzadik," the son-in-law of the Baba Sali) how, during one of these journeys, he arrived in the town of Ta'izz, where the Gaon Rabbi Abba Shalom Shabazi is buried. Having walked a great distance on foot, Rabbi Chaim sat down to rest under a tree. Suddenly an Arab approached him and greeted him, wishing him peace. Yet Arab law forbade wishing peace upon a Jew. So the rabbi thought the man intended him harm. "Why do you bless me with peace?" asked Rabbi Chaim. "Your laws forbid this." The Arab answered: "I doubt our laws, for I am in great grief. My daughter has been paralyzed for two years, and I can find no cure for her. I have gone around all the graves of Islamic teachers, listened to the advice of our religious leaders, and made vows, but none of it has helped my daughter. Now I want to ask you: when you reach Ta'izz, pray for my daughter at the grave of your tzadik." Arriving at the grave of the righteous Abba Shalom Shabazi, the Rav prayed for the girl: "Master of the World! In the merit of this tzadik, Abba Shalom Shabazi, send complete healing to the daughter of that Arab, and sanctify Your Name and the name of the entire people of Israel among the other nations. And let them know that their deeds are vanity, and You are Truth, and Your Name is Truth." On his way back, Rabbi Chaim saw that the Arab was waiting for him at the crossroads. He ran to meet the Rav and began embracing him and kissing his feet, uttering every possible word of gratitude. Once he calmed down, he related that shortly after he returned home, his daughter sat up in bed and said: "Father, father! I feel a great heat throughout my whole body! Help me stand up!" The father, not believing his ears, reached out his hand to support her, and beheld a miracle: the girl stood on her feet like an ordinary healthy person. And within a couple more days she was completely healed! The Arab then began to denounce "all the great men of Islam," saying: "Moshe is truth, and his Torah is truth! Rav Shabazi and the sages of Israel are truth!" ("Tiferet Yemen") When this story became known, the Name of the Creator was glorified both among the Jews and among the non-Jews of those places (Shulchan Melachim). Rabbi Chaim Sinwani taught: "One of our roles, as sons of the King of the world, is to glorify His Name and make Him known in the world, allowing others who do not know Him well enough to come to know Him. How is this done? It is difficult to approach every single person and tell them about the Creator and His deeds. But if through our actions we, as Jews, sanctify His Name, then we can thereby proclaim the Name of the Creator. When you conduct yourself calmly in the street, your speech is relaxed, and your walk is modest, you influence others without wishing to be looked at or stared at. When you radiate light upon those around you, they immediately look toward the source from which you draw these values - the Torah. Through your conduct you can bring many under the wings of the Shechinah and sanctify His blessed Name in the world.   He ascended to the Heavenly Yeshiva on 27 Adar. On his grave is written: "Sanigor shel Yisrael" (Defender of Israel). Rav Shmuel Shmueli, a student of Rabbi Chaim Sinwani, related that when he was 13 years old, Rav Sharabi gave him a Sefer Tehillim (both of them were his teachers) and told him that whoever wants Yeshuot should go to the grave of Rabbi Chaim Sinwani.   He ascended to the Heavenly Yeshiva on 27 Adar. On his grave is written: "Sanigor shel Yisrael." May the merit of this great Mekubal protect Am Yisrael!   (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/1064-Rabbi-Chaim-Sinwani)